Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly revealed that he was about to move to his current club, Chelsea, in 2015, but Napoli’s Italian owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, did not allow him to leave the club at that time.
The 31-year-old defender, who led Senegal to victory in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, joined the London side in July after eight seasons with Napoli.
Coulibaly told the media that Antonio Conte, the current Tottenham Hotspur coach and Chelsea coach at the time, tried to sign him after his first year with Napoli.
“I spoke with the owner respectfully and told him that I wanted to leave for Chelsea, but he told me that wouldn’t be possible. So I waited a bit and kept talking to them, but they didn’t want me to leave the club so I decided to renew my contract to stay in Napoli, for me it was a bit difficult,” Coulibaly added. To say no because it has been my dream to play in the Premier League since I was a kid.”
After fulfilling his childhood dream, Coulibaly’s position at Chelsea meant that his chances of being on the championship-winning team were even stronger.
Although Napoli came close to concluding the Serie A title under coach Maurizio Sarri, Koulibaly lifted the Italian Cup only once while at the club.
“From my personal experience, I know that you don’t have to put an end to your dream, and my dream is to win everything with Chelsea. I know it will be difficult. I’m not cocky. I have a lot of respect for everyone, but I know that Chelsea is a great team that competes for trophies. They are used to winning trophies.”
